Among the series of negative headlines that began before his first day on the job, CBS News topper Barry Weiss enlisted the expertise of a seasoned executive to help navigate the transition from digital doyenne to online content manager.
Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that Weiss sought advice from anyone but Jeff Sugar.
Weiss and Zucker have been longtime friends, and the former president of CNN Worldwide was one of the first people to call him to congratulate him when he sold his independent news outlet The Free Press to Paramount Skydance for $150 million in October and took control of the Tiffany Network’s news division.
“He wanted to find a way in, and he actually had discussions with him, asking for advice,” said a source familiar with the talks.
(The ties run deep. Zucker’s son has written as a freelancer for The Free Press.)
Paramount Skydance and CBS News declined to comment. A representative for Zucker did not respond to a request for comment.
Ironically, the legion of journalists who have gunned for Weiss have been some of Zucker’s most vocal fans over the years. Having Zucker in an official position would have prevented Weiss from a constant barrage of media accusations, but the eponymous executive would also have produced a third train for the Paramount Skydance CEO. David Ellison while seeking government approval to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
Zucker, who was also the former CEO of NBCUniversal as well as the executive producer of “Today,” helped pave the way for Donald Trump presidency by establishing the real estate mogul as the mainstay of “The Apprentice.” But Zucker eventually became one of Trump’s biggest enemies while running CNN.
“David doesn’t want selfish, self-serving adults,” one source said of Zucker’s prospect. “Look at the team he’s built, there’s nothing like that. He wants to put together people who are well put together. Bari is well put together.”
That may come as a shock to the media, who have been merciless in their coverage of Weiss’ tenure. They have pointed out his alleged bias, framed his opinion as falling fast and ridiculed his management style. (Page Six Hollywood, admittedly, got in on the action briefly by poking fun at the CBS News chyron mishap and posting audio of Weiss speaking to the fired staff, many of whom found her words uncomfortable.)
But Weiss also did other things well that don’t often get highlighted in the press.
He saved Oprah WinfreyBFF picture Gayle King morning line and got the star anchor to “buy in” for the future direction and vision for the network, says a Weiss insider at CBS. Among other winnings, he hunted a journo and a writer Matt Gutman from ABC News, and got exclusive interviews, including a sit-down with Renee Good’s family after the protester was killed by an ICE agent.
Weiss also brought in a national security inspector Aaron McLean soon after the Iran military conflict broke out. His “War School” podcast under CBS News has seen strong subscriber growth as a result. Other important contributors added in recent months include Arthur Brooks, Roger Carstens and former US National Security Advisor HR McMaster.
CBS News was the only network to interview Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – both after the US military’s takeover of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela (“Evening News”) and the post-Iran conflict (“60 Minutes”). As Weiss’s detractors engaged in collective eyerolls over what Hegseth was getting as a result of the Pentagon’s new press policy, every network continued to cover Hegseth’s brief on Iran.
But a CBS News insider argues that Weiss won’t listen to anyone but his most trusted lieutenants. “He’s surrounded by sycophants, and they’re not helping his cause,” says the insider.
As for the “CBS Evening News” ratings, they are down year over year. And maybe Zucker could have helped reverse the recession with one of his famous PT Barnum quotes. (Remember Zucker’s frenzy on CNN about Carnival’s 2013 “Poop Cruise?” Or the missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 in 2014?)
However, the “CBS Evening News” was already going south before Weiss tapped Tony Dokoupil to replace John Dickerson and Marcus DuBois — and gave exclusive interviews with President Trump, Hegseth and Tom Homan after they finally took over the DHS/ICE operation in Minneapolis.
Finally, Weiss plays to the audience of another, and it’s Ellison. Sources familiar with their power say that he is happy with the work he is doing.
The source says: “He has no problem with Bari. He thinks he has to break the glasses and that the media coming after him is crazy.
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